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Flower Communion does two things: It reminds us of where we came from; It reminds us of who we are.

Many Unitarian Universalists— even those who grow up UU— do not know all the stories behind our traditions and ritual.

For example, our flaming chalice, which is lit in UU churches all over the world, comes from Jan Hus who– over 600 years ago– dared to serve the people the chalice— the communion cup.

The church authorities didn’t like this, so they killed him. They burned him at the stake.

Jan Hus was a Czech, that is he came from what we now call the Czech Republic, the former Czechoslovakia. He preached in the common language instead of Latin, he preached about the everyday things instead of preaching the official church doctrine. At that time, only one religion was allowed, so there were no Unitarians there.

Even today, every July 6, people celebrate Jan Hus in the Czech Republic. And we remember him, too. The chalice stands for the people’s liberty and the flame represents his sacrifice.

Five Hundred years later, the flaming chalice was adopted by the Unitarian Service Committee— the USC— as a logo and as identification for their agents who tried to rescue those marked for death by the Nazis.

You see, in those days– about 65 years ago– German soldiers were trying to kill people they didn’t like: Jews, Gays, Lesbians, people who talked about freedom too much. Some Unitarians went to Europe to try and sneak people out of the country and away from the Nazis. So, the USC needed a symbol, a badge, something to let themselves and other people know who they were– so they used a drawing of the flaming chalice.

So that’s the story of our flaming chalice. It reminds us of who we are, and what sacrifices people have made for religious freedom.

The story of our flower communion is also full of intrigue.

In 1870, a boy named Norbert Capek was born to a poor village tailor’s family. Although he grew up Roman Catholic, soon enough he decided he disliked that religion and announced himself– a Baptist.

Tossed out of his house, the Baptists took him in and put him in school to become a minister. Then, Norbert Capek became a bible salesman and missionary preacher. He became so successful as a preacher, that the Baptists sent him off to the United States as an evangelist– someone to try and spread the Baptist religion. So, he moved to New Jersey.

After a while, he became dissatisfied with his religion and began looking around for something else. Apparently, he asked too many questions. One of his friends in America told him about a Unitarian church nearby. And so, Norbert began to go to the Unitarian church in East Orange, New Jersey.

World War I ended, and the new country of Czechoslovakia got started. Norbert’s friend ended up being the first president of this new country. And Norbert Capek convinced the American Unitarian Association to send him back to his homeland as a missionary. And again, Norbert proved to be a popular preacher (CLF, 5/90).

With the 1930s came a world wide economic depression– a lot of people suddenly became poor– and a German politician named Adolf Hitler took over Czechoslovakia. Capek was hounded by the Nazi soldiers because he preached about freedom. Finally, he was arrested at his house in Prague.

His crime? Listening to a British radio broadcast. You see, Britain and Germany were at war, and he wasn’t supposed to be listening to British radio. So he was sent to various prisons for this crime. The Unitarian minister Charles Joy, says that

[Capek] wrote beautiful letters to his family, expressing his suffering, his hopes, and his deep feelings. He used every tiny scrap of paper he could find for his correspondence, as he was permitted neither paper nor pencil. The pencil he had secured was a very precious possession. Removing a nail from the wall, he enlarged the hole enough to hide the pencil. These letters were his best ever, and they enclosed ten wonderful hymns.

In June of 1942, Norbert Capek was sent to the death camp in Dachau. The Nazis killed him by poison, an agonizing death. The Nazis were terrorists, and terrorists don’t like religious freedom.

Although Dr. Capek wrote over 90 hymns, many of which are still in use in Europe, we know him best as a Unitarian minister and inventor of the Flower Communion.

In the late 1920s, Norbert and his wife, Maja Capek, came up with the Flower Communion. Their grandson Ron Frederick relates that they

[wanted] a symbolic ritual that would bind the people together. It had to be of such form that all could participate without reservation. And so [they] conceived the Flower Communion. On [a certain] Sunday, each member was asked to bring a flower...

At the end of the service, each took home a different flower. Bringing the flower was meant to symbolize that each member is a unique individual, choosing freely to join with others to share that uniqueness. The taking home of a different flower represented the benefits from this sharing experience.

The Flower Communion reminds us how quickly life can go by: we grow, perhaps get a chance to bloom, we die, and return to earth again.

By bringing a flower, we say that we are unique and beautiful in our own way. By taking a flower, we say that we can accept one another, and that we all have something to give and to take.

Our Flaming Chalice, our Flower Communion service— all these things remind us that religious freedom, like all true liberty, comes at a cost.

A cost paid by other people who paved the way for us to be here. Let us be thankful. Amen.